Officials arrested 66-year-old Sherry Wilemon on Monday night after a witnesses said she shot her neighbor's cat twice with a pellet rifle and left the animal to die in a driveway.

The witness said Wilemon "appeared to be hiding behind a tree" at the time of the shooting, a news release said.

Wilemon told investigators the cat had been getting in her trash and she fired the gun to scare the animal off. Her son then buried the cat in the backyard.

"Due to the excessive suffering and the cruel death that the cat endured, the investigator placed Wilemon under arrest for aggravated animal cruelty and transported her to the Marion County Jail," said Judge Cochran, Marion County Public Information Officer.